Caring for all ages: Family medicine practice comes to Acton

Matt Mallio @actonbeacon

Friday

Mar 22, 2019 at 3:00 PMMar 22, 2019 at 4:55 PM

Family medicine, according to Dr. Kavitha Gazula, MD, is an old specialty.

Unlike a pediatrician or a primary care physician, doctors in family medicine treat the whole range of ages from infants to seniors, often in the same family. Gazula said it wasn't uncommon for family medicine doctors to treat both mother and child, and even that child's children, as well. It's a model she's been wanting to bring to the area for years.

"I'm very passionate about doing maternal and child health," said Gazula, a 13-year Boxborough resident. "That's what draws me into family medicine."

Better care for all

When asked what her favorite part of being a family doctor was, Gauzla responded: "Seeing the full spectrum."

Treating members of the same family at different points in their lives, Gazula said, allows her to get a better understanding of family dynamics and that continuity of care enables her to provide better care to all family members.

An urban specialty in the 'burbs

Gazula said that family medicine practices tended to be in cities. She attended Bangalore Medical College in India and did her residency and internship in family medicine at UMass in Worcester. Her fellowship was at the Greater Lawrence Family Health Center.

"It's just not prevalent as much in this area," said Gazula in her Acton office at 529 Main St. and the corner of Post Office Square.

She said her practice has been in operation since late 2014 and has grown substantially, which she said shows the need for family medicine in the area.

"There are adult medicine providers, which are general internal medicine and pediatric providers, but there's no family medicine model in the community," said Gazula, "which is what was my goal of setting up a practice in the town of Acton, to be able to provide that model of care to the community."

Mental health

Gazula said she is on staff at Emerson Hospital's physician and independent physicians boards and said she is working to bring family medicine to the hospital. She said she is on faculty at Boston University, and third-year BU medical students rotating through learning the practice of family medicine.

Another essential part of her practice, which is called Integrated Family Medicine Associates, is behavioral health. She said she had a behavioral therapist in part of the office.

"I think we don't have enough providers compared to the needs in the community," she said.

East and West

The "Integrated" part of her practice's name, she said, also reflects her interest in combining treatments from different backgrounds.

"East and West basically," said Gazula. "I am a medical acupuncturist, so I tend to offer that as part of my practice if I'm seeing somebody for low back pain and pain management."

Medical acupuncture, she said, is an alternative treatment for pain management.

"Especially where we are really battling the opioid epidemic right now," said Gazula.